The Point of Living
by DrHankryZone13
Summary: When Bradley ends up not invited to Milo's birthday by accident, he starts having self-doubting thoughts and desperately tries to end his life, seeing no further reason to live. Can Melissa convince him otherwise? Rated T for dark themes and self harm
1. Chapter 1

**A two-shot alternative ending to Party of Peril where Bradley, who wasn't included in Milo's party, feels rejected and goes off the road...**

 **This is based on a Tumblr art belonging to dawhitebag; The crying Bradley cover also belongs to her. Do not reuse without her permission.**

 **Enjoy :)**

 **WARNING: Suicidal! Bradley ahead.**

* * *

 _Ha ha ha!_

 _Hey Milo!_

 _Best party ever Milo!_

Those were only some of the various words of praise Bradley can hear as he watched through a tiny hole in the wooden fence of the Park where he heard of a certain event taking place. Beyond the border, he can clearly see his classmates having fun at Milo's birthday party. While the bespectacled kid could have felt happy for the Murphy boy, anguish with the tint of betrayal filled his heart.

Melissa, Amanda, Chad and even Mort, his best friend, have attended the event. Or more particularly, all the eighth graders in his class are invited. _Except for him_. And perhaps what hurts Bradley the most is that none of them, including the very few acquaintances he had, didn't care to point him out or even notice his absence.

Behind the eyeglasses, Bradley's eyes started to water the longer he continued to watch the joyous scenario before him.

At the same time, past memories started to resurface, causing him to mentally break down even more.

His past birthdays, nobody cared to acknowledge or even offer greetings. Bradley shut his eyes tightly knowing that it's no fault of his friends since his family isn't the type to make a bash out of events like these. Although kids like Mort did sympathise with him, it wasn't the same as what Milo gets from his own buds; Sincere words of comfort when he's down and presence whenever he needs them the most.

 _Mort didn't even ask me if I wanted to come,_ he thought bitterly as he felt the salty tears slide down his cheeks. _No one did!_ His glistening eyes widened as a dark realisation struck him like an arrow dipped into poison and piercing right through his already weakened heart; All of his past experiences of being looked down upon on and their affects are all starting to make sense in a way that it formed a horrible picture.

His attempts of getting everyone's attention only for Milo to grab them unintentionally, the looks of boredom he received from classmates whenever he tried to share stuff and the fact that they just couldn't understand him. "I can't help it…" Bradley muttered as he recalled how somewhat mean and arrogant he is towards them which is why he gets such negative responses.

Truth to be told, he doesn't know why he's even like this. What can be done about it? His parents are no different from him and they basically posessed the trait in raising Bradley for his thirteen years of life. And those parental influences passed down to him and became part of his lifestyle attitude. But then again… Not his fault. At least not literally.

 _They never liked me for the way I am_

His lower lip trembled as more tears started to fall.

 _They see me as nothing_

His eyes narrowed and he gritted his teeth in pain.

 _Nothing but a mere waste of time and friendship._

He opened his moist eyes, his pupils dilated as he took slow but hoarse breaths.

 _It's always Milo who gets everything_

His eyes narrowed as anger started to rise within him.

 _While his shadow falls dark upon Bradley_

Unable to control himself any longer, the thirteen-year old clasps his hands in his hair and lets out a loud but pained screech; Letting out whatever negativity he contained for ages in a shrill cry of anguish.

 _ **"I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"**_

* * *

A shouted-out-loud sentence followed by a scream of agony startled a certain ginger girl along with her brown banana-haired friend. Melissa frowned briefly before it turned into a look of concern. "What was that?" She asked Milo who stood beside her. Milo raised a finger to speak but the sounds of audible whimpering followed by running footsteps behind the fence entered their ears. To Milo, the voice sounded very familiar and he recognized who it belonged to at once.

"Bradley?!"

Milo's exclamation caught the attention of his classmates and they immediately faced the wood fence where the screech last came from.

Having the same thought as Milo, Mort was the first to react and worry overcame him. "Yeah that was definitely Bradley. But yet he isn't here," His words made Milo frown in question. "Bradley's not here?" He scanned his large group of visitors and saw his words to be true because there was an obvious lack of a black haired boy in glasses. "Wasn't he invited to the party?"

All eyes aside from his are now set on Melissa and Zack knowing that they're the ones who handed out the invitations. "We made invitations for the whole class," Zack explained and scratched his head. "But I didn't have Bradley's invitation in my pile of handouts." He then faced Melissa. "Did you have Bradley's invitation with you earlier?"

Melissa nodded in response.

"Yeah I had it with me," She recalled. "It's the last of my invitation stack and I was going to give it to him. But then I remembered that he had co-curricular activities outside of school which is why I didn't see him when I was handing out." She narrowed her eyes at somebody in the crowd. "But I did entrust a certain somebody to give it to him which is an absolutely big mistake." One of the kids who visited chuckled nervously as he was now rounded on. "Yeah I was supposed to give Bradley his invitation," He admitted meekly before shivering. "But he scares me!"

Standing behind Melissa and hearing his words, Amanda felt her lower eye twitch as she stared wide-eyed. "Wow… I am not the only feared pupil after all," She philosophically quoted and glared at him. "Really your foolish mistake made Bradley Nicholson hurt thinking that he is the only one who is not invited to Milo's birthday!" She raised a fist but Milo quickly stood inbetween her and the guilty kid to prevent anything from happening any further.

"Calm down Amanda! Anger doesn't solve everything! It never does!" He gave everyone in his surroundings a look of determination. "Right now, we have to get Bradley here. It's still early and it's a saturday night! We can always finish later!" Melissa nodded firecely and punched the air. "You heard Milo! We cannot continue the party without Bradley any further!" She makes way for the center as the rest made a clearing for her as she started to make her inspiring speech.

"We all know Bradley has disliked and avoided Milo for a lot of whatever reasons he has, and he may be aloof, boring and inconsiderate at times I admit. But don't you remember the middle school code? Nobody and I mean _nobody_ gets left behind!" She stressed out the last phrase sending the feels into the hearts of some as they saw the point she was bringing out.

Milo grinned at this and sided with Melissa.

"Melissa is right guys! Bradley Nicholson is our friend and I want to celebrate my thirteenth year of life with everyone including him! So I say we bring him back so we can finish together with him. Who's with me?!"

At once, Zack raised his hand and went to stand next to his pals. "I'm in!" Mort and Amanda followed suit and one by one, all the seventh graders had their arms raised and even Milo's family raised theirs since they've been listening to the issue at hand and knew that their youngest member is doing the right thing.

Milo smiled delightedly and ran outside the park but not without informing his watchers. "I'll look for him. All of you get things re-prepared! Or whatever the right word for that is!" He left with Melissa following him as a searching partner. His parents, Martin and Bridgette waved after their son as he left. "Be careful out on the streets son! Alleyways are always dangerous at this hour!" Martin called out as his son and Melissa disappeared out of view..

* * *

Meanwhile farther ahead of the search party couple, Bradley stood hidden in the dark but dimly lit alleyways flinging glass bottles against the walls. The crashes of glass breaking strangely satisfied him but also fueled his self-rage even more. _'I'm not worth it to them, they won't need me or notice me when I'm gone'_ Bradley bitterly thought as he smashed yet another bottle against the wall.

The remaining part of the bottle clutched in his hand remained unbroken but it's edge where Bradley smashed it is now jagged with sharp and threateningly pointed edges. On the floor, a shard of glass ended up in Bradley's view and he dropped the bottle to pick up the sharp object. Grasping it with no caution made cuts into the tween's palm but he didn't care. Emotional pain is worser than anything right now… And he desperately needed to relieve that pain. _**Even with drastic measures.**_

Seconds later, Bradley's fingers held on to the glass shard and it was raised above his wrist for a brief minute as if its owner needed the time to locate a fatal cutting area. Behind his eyeglasses, Bradley's eyes couldn't help but widen in slight surprise. Of all of his self-harmed areas, his wrist, **_artery_** in particular, is about to join the rest of his physical but hidden scars. A scar that will no doubt _**kill**_ him in 20 minutes or less depending on how deep he cuts into it.

At most, Bradley's usual cutting spots are his arms above his elbows where the scars are safely hidden under his grey flannel sleeves. The thirteen-year old merely smiled as he closed his eyes, the glass piercing his wrist and it went deeper and deeper as more pressure was applied to the hand that held it.

 _I won't be suffering anymore_

Bradley's darkly serene thoughts clouded his mind from the pain.

 _Everyone will get what they want; Me to disappear from their lives for good_

The glass hit a pressure point and blood started to seep from the wound; Droplets staining the ground. His eyes opened halfway as he suddenly remembered yet another person in his life. Not someone he strongly disliked like Milo. No. Someone… He's been striving so hard to get but failed constantly.

 _Melissa_

"Melissa…" Bradley hoarsely whispered as tears flowed from his eyes. By now, the bleeding from his wrist worsened and the blood is already seeping and staining his flannel. His eyes shut tightly as he pressed harder into the glass as it made his already deep wound much harder. The artery is yet to be cut but was almost there. "She won't need me…She has Milo to be with." He inhaled shakily as he felt something rupture in his wrist.

The artery has been **cut** and the darkening blood gushed out.

Bradley didn't care about the intense physical pain he is causing himself. What else could he live for if he ever died this way? High-standard parents force him to be like them, friends who aren't even real friends that sincerely care about you, some kid who steals attention and making things socially difficult for you…

Wow, a ton good reasons to keep living for.

Not

His eyelids' tightness started to lessen as the tweenager felt his body give way, slumping forward with his head against the walls; Only his knees and limp hands touched the floor.

 _Goodbye cruel world. Milo has you in his hands from now on. He'll take great care of you. The world and all I'm about to leave behind_

A soft, hoarse breath sounded from the barely conscious boy as his vision blurred before passing out; Audible footsteps and the recognisable and distressed screams of Melissa and Milo managing to reach his ears for a good second before nothingness took over…

* * *

 **Bradley finally succumbs to his own self... Will he survive? Find out in the next chapter ;)**

 **Special thanks to dawhitebag from Tumblr for her awesome Hurt!Bradley piece; The big inspiration for this fic! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry it took so long to wait! I've been busy in irl and I haven't enough time to do this unless it's the weekends or something ^^' Luckily I managed to finish it today :)**

 **This is the final chapter with epilogue. if you'd like a sequel or continuation where we left, let me know in the reviews ;)**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

The ride in the ambulance heading for hospital is quiet as Melissa sat in dazed silence watching her dad and some other paramedics worked to stop Bradley's bleeding and keep him alive till they reach the emergency room. It's not too long ago when she and Milo found him bleeding by the wrist and palms in the alleyways surrounded by broken shards of glass. Her eyes welled up in tears as she remembered how close to dead Bradley looked when they first found him.

Unmoving

Closed eyes moist with tears

Blood pooling around his wrist

That look of depression on his face…

"Who would do this to Bradley?" Milo sobbed, not really knowing the difference between self-attempted and purposely inflicted injuries. "He didn't do anything wrong!" Melissa tried to stay strong for her younger friend but felt herself give way. _No one tried to kill him Milo,_ she wanted to say but was too distressed. Instead, she let the boy cry into her shoulder as she set her gaze on Bradley once more.

The thirteen-year old was breathing faintly with an oxygen mask delivering the oxygen he needs. The white sheets covered his blood-stained clothes while a paramedic sat near his side and kept a cloth pressed on to Bradley's cut wrist to prevent any more blood loss. His glasses are removed and sat near his head revealing the noticeable bags of stress below his eyes; His long hair slick covered the left upper side of his face which Melissa wanted to brush away but didn't in fear that even a single touch could damage him.

The head paramedic, Mr Chase, frowned in concern as he turned to his daughter and Milo. "Think he did this to himself?" He questioned. "His artery's cut pretty deep…a wound that's less than accidental and more inflicted." To this, Milo shot up in shock. "What do you mean you think Bradley did that to himself?!" He cried in horror.

Melissa shushed him and tried to hold the kid down before he could stand up. With Milo not looking, Melissa gave her dad a pleading look and mouthed a sentence that made him quickly understand and sit back. "I meant, he hurt himself while doing whatever errand he was told to do," Mr Chase explained calmly in sugarcoat language as to not stress the young Murphy out. "Accidents do happen, and not all of them are always related to Murphy's law," He added as a soft reminder.

"Dad's right Milo…" Melissa weakly smiled and patted Milo's back. "Bradley must have gotten into a big whoop or something, nothing worse," She inhaled shakily and placed a hand on Bradley's uninjured hand, gripping it lightly in hers. She knew how self-harm cuts looked like. And almost how impossible it is for a smart kid like Bradley to accidentally wound the fatal artery.

 _Did he really do this to himself?_

She thought in disbelief but shook her head. Better let the doctors do the examining, they should know if it's self-inflicted or not. She sighed and leaned back, her hand never letting go of Bradley's as she mentally prayed continously for him to hang on... Fight for his life until he wins.

* * *

"So he did cut himself?!"

Melissa's loud outburst can be heard in the hospital corridors causing Zack to shut her up. "Indoor voice Mel!" He reminded her in a whisper. Zack's mom, Dr Underwood, finished treating the injured Bradley and is now delivering his health state to the worried kids before her. "I wish I could say that he didn't, especially at his age," She sadly spoke. "But he had a lot of scars on specific spots, so it's likely that he did harm himself rather than get in an accident."

Melissa sat up at those words.

"A lot of scars?" She questioned, remembering that she only saw one on his wrist and the tiny cuts in his palm. "But he only has one on his wrist and few on his palm." Dr Underwood went to a hospital room door and turned the knob. "I guess you only saw his most recent injuries. Eunice and I were with him in the Emergency Room and I have to say, Bradley must have been having some hard times in life." She opened the door for them to enter. "But he's doing fine for now. Still didn't wake up, but he could be anytime soon,"

"Okay, thanks for telling us Dr Zack's mom," Melissa thanked as she and her friends entered the sterile-scented room. In the middle of the room lied the insensitive Bradley on a hospital bed; Thankfully for Zack who had slight nauseous feels for blood, wore one of the clean hospital gowns in place of his blood-stained clothes from earlier.

But what saddened those in the room the most were the noticeable scars that covered his bare arms above the elbows.

"Mom isn't kidding…" Zack muttered as he studied his classmate's scars with a wince. "These are definitely self-harm scars," Two pairs of eyes looked at him in surprise that he knew such thing. "Hey! It's what you get when your mom works in treating wounds and stuff!" Zack quickly intervened. "I've seen her tend to self-harmed patients before and I pretty much know how their scars would look like by now,"

"Good point genius," Melissa chuckled lightly before sitting at Bradley's bedside.

As if he sensed the gingerhead's presence, the sleeping tween started to stir and his eyes opened halfway, looking calmly but tiredly at those around him. Melissa could make out the surprise in his eyes before it morphed into something else which made her heart race; confusion which turned to demanding confusion. "W-Why am I still here?" Bradley frantically asked to practically nobody.

Since he isn't wearing his glasses, his vision isn't clear and all he saw were blurry figures of white, orange, dark pink and dandelion. Feeling out for a moment, he managed to find his eyewear and put them back on, his vision restoring and the figures before him became clearer. "Melissa? Zack and Milo?" He muttered, too stunned to do much. "What are you three doing here?

Instead of replying, Melissa lost it and in a split second, her arms wrapped tight around Bradley into a firm but relieved embrace. Milo and Zack did the same which surprised Bradley even more. "Oh Bradley thank goodness you're okay!" Melissa cried; her grip on the bespectacled kid getting tighter. "We almost lost you earlier!" The sight of her tears triggered little in Bradley but he still had the heart to return her hug in comfort.

Milo smiled weakly and placed a hand on Melissa's shoulder. "You have no idea how worried we are about you Bradley," His eyes glistened in slight moist. "You really lost a lot of blood earlier! Good thing Melissa and I found you and got you help in time!"

At this, Bradley's lower eye twitched as something popped inside him. "You're not supposed to find me, or bring me here in the first place…" He lowly spoke as he broke free from the girl's brace. He folded his arms as he sat up. "And I'm surprised that you did worry about me, just when something bad has happened to me." The trio exchanged confused looks.

"Of course we'd worry about you Brad," Zack calmly pointed out. "Why wouldn't we?"

Bradley narrowed his eyes in anger. "As if… Typical of you obviously. Nobody would leave a person to bleed and die on the spot. You didn't seem to worry about me before didn't you not? What makes this time different? Me wanting to die just for you guys?"

The last four words broke Melissa's heart as the situation earlier is starting to make sense.

"So you did do that to yourself… But why for us?" She cried. "We never wanted you to die Bradley!"

"Because none of you ever cared about me! Admit it already!" Bradley snapped angrily.

"But I did," Melissa sobbed as she reached for Bradley's hand and pressed it against her cheek as she inhaled shakily. "We all did."

Milo and Zack nodded in agreement.

"Earlier when we saw that you didn't get the invitation to my party as expected, we all worried for you. That's why we put it on hold and won't resume until we get you included," Milo explained.

"Toby got quite the verbal beating from Amanda when we found out he didn't give you the invitation just because he's too scared of you," Zack added with a chuckle remembering the unlucky guy's fate earlier.

Bradley couldn't help but gape a bit. "So you did invite me to your birthday?" He facepalmed in exasperation. "Stupid me…Always too sensitive!" He lowered his head but raised it again when Melissa pulled up one of his arms and looked at him seriously. "Something says so otherwise…" Her eyes filled with sterness and concern. "Bradley, something else is bothering you, isn't it?" Her question sounded like a plea for answers.

In response, Bradley sighed and looked at Milo and Zack briefly before back at her. "I'd be glad to tell you Melissa, but if it's okay, I want to tell only you for now…" Melissa nodded in understanding and turned to her best friends. "You heard him boys," She said. Bradley nodded at her words but raised a finger. "Don't worry, I'll tell you, including Milo, as well eventually, but you know, ladies first." He shook his hand in a 'shoo' motion.

"Okay, anything for you Bradley!" Milo positively spoke as he walked out. "Don't stress or exert pressure on your wrist too much, kay?" Zack added as a reminder as he followed Milo.

Now with just the two of them in the room, Melissa gave Bradley a look of concern mixed with curiosity. "They're gone now and it's just you and me Brad," She folded her arms. "The beans may be spilt now," Bradley sighed and rested back against his pillows. "Fine if you insist…"

He looked at the scars on his arm.

"It's like I said earlier, you'd only care for me if something bad like this happens. But when nothing does, you never seem to notice me. Even if you do, it'll only be for minutes until Milo comes and steals the spotlight." He spoke the last six words in a bitter tone which made Melissa wince briefly.

"That part I get, but really Milo didn't mean to get our attention and make you feel that way," Melissa folded her arms. "And you know? You wouldn't feel that much leftout if you just joined us with Milo instead of keeping away,"

She narrowed her eyes.

"If you're considerate about other people's feelings enough, you'd know that your distancing from him hurts Milo in the inside. And look at him, me and Zack are like the only ones who'd stand by his side! Why can't you or anyone else do so?"

Bradley growled and placed his hands on his sides.

"Would you like a person that your best friend chooses over you and moves on to be with him? And making you feel _completely_ friendless? Yeah I know Milo deserves good friends like you and Zack, that I've been considerate enough to let him have.

But may I remind you, if he's as good as you really think and worth ditching me for, he should have at least noticed that somebody is suffering negative stuff in the background and stuck out a helping hand or something! Milo _never_ did that! Yet you still hang out with him risking your life when you could just stay safe around me!

Everyone in the class hurt me by leaving me alone just for one boy, including you Melissa. You're probably gonna deny but no, I have all the answers I need. **_You left me_** , and broke the promise you made of being my friend forever just for Milo because he's always been better than me!"

He sniffed and wiped his tears away.

"I bet you won't believe this but even my own parents compared me to that son of a Murphy despite my countless efforts of pleasing them just to get their attention! So I try to end my suffering once and for all but you and your boys just had to stop me! I am only doing you and everyone else a favour Melissa! After all, who's going to mourn for me when I die? Who's going to cry real tears of grief for me when my remains get lowered underground and covered with earth? No one! And even if there are people who would, I know that it's definitely not my parents or you and the others in the class…"

 ** _SLAP_**

Bradley's head jerked to the side as a female hand came into harsh contact with his cheek. Melissa's eyes were teary with anguish as she tackled the bespectacled tween into a death-brace; Her fingers dug deep into Bradley's back as her arms kept around him.

"You idiot! You stupid, empty-headed idiot! You killing yourself is NOT a favour I'd want and none of our classmates would want that either!" She sobbed and faced her classmate as tears slid down her face, recalling that what Bradley said about her leaving him is true. She liked Milo more because of his happy-go-lucky nature and because she felt that he deserved a friend like her more than Bradley...

But boy was she wrong.

That one reason she first decided to become Bradley's best friend is because just like with Milo, she felt sorry for him as he suffers constant pressure from his parents to give them high grades and be perfect in everything while Milo's parents are nothing like Bradley's as everyday, their son would get showered with their love and affection, never mind the troubles he unintentionally causes with his condition.

Bradley is a completely different story for with every F or average pass he gets in his school life, his parents would keep pushing him to go higher until he grows to validictate every scholarship he'll have in the future and earn a lot to make their family rich. To Melissa, they appear to treat their son more like a cash cow and this disgusted her greatly.

She felt her heart break at the now broken and scarred Bradley sit before her; The injuries he caused himself are the result of the everyday burdens he had to put up with. The most saddening part being that throughout all of this, neither she or anyone else was there to stick by his side when he needed them most.

"I'm sorry Bradley…" Melissa said as she continued to weep; Her emotional firmness getting harder to maintain because of her heart-wrenching guilt. "Very sorry… I shouldn't have left you. I shouldn't have broken my promise!" She cried into his shoulder. "I've been a terrible friend. No, why am I even calling myself as your friend still? After making you suffer this way?" Melissa started to subdue and silence filled the room; The only audible noises being her constant sniffles and sobs.

As he sat watching his former best friend cry into his shoulder like she used to do back when they were close, Bradley felt his feels of angst wear off and he gently patted his former friend on the shoulder. "Well I have to admit, I don't blame you for leaving me," He confessed. "Nobody likes to hang out with a salty jerk like me anyways. I try to change, but it's hard to do so because, well, it's because it's me. And nobody likes how the current me is acting out towards them. So technically, I am also at fault here…"

At his words, Melissa perked up and tipped his chin up with her finger so the two are faced eye-to-eye.

"You have no fault in any of this Bradley Nicholson, and you are perfect just the way you are. Your pessimism, saltiness and whatsoever is what makes you you!"

She sobbed as her eyes started to water again.

"I'm the one who's at fault! I'm the one who's the salty jerk here! I left a friend just to be with another and just like that, our close friendship has shrunk to the size a grain, Boom!"

The emphasis on her last word made Bradley laugh a bit; Causing even a small but brief teary smile on Melissa's lips. Just after that smile disappeared but before she was about to guilt-rant some more, he quickly shushed her and kept his hand on her shoulder giving assuring squeezes.

"Well it hasn't shrunk to that size yet Melissa," He gave her a smile. "Don't forget the last times I always go to you for company or to hang out! I wouldn't do that if I officially cut you away from my life as a friend,"

Melissa felt her spirits lift anf she found herself playfully bumping her head against Bradley's with a chuckle. "Seriously? Why would I forget those times? I am always open for anyone Brad!" She folded her arms and frowned a little. "But I am a little disappointed that you wouldn't hang out with me whenever I'm with Milo. You are seriously missing a lot!"

Bradley turned away in light remorse.

"Well I wouldn't want to be all scratched up or suffer from broken bones all the time." He sighed. "That and I don't really like him for you know what…"

Melissa placed a hand on his chest and leaned close.

"I won't blame you Bradley… But I need to point out that it isn't Milo's fault that he's causing you inconvenience. He doesn't even know that he is, nobody would unless he or she is really sharp sensed." She explained as she gingerly brushed her fingers against the fabric of Bradley's gown.

"And Milo... Milo is not exactly like us to the fullest, Bradley. He's not just a kid who brings his cyclone of calamity everywhere he goes. He's also…" She stopped there and whispered the rest in the boy's ear; The words making Bradley's eyes widen in shock. "No way! Did he really have another condition like that?" He quickly whispered back to which Melissa nodded in response. Bradley buried his face in his hands in guilt. "How could I not have known about that sooner?" He muttered. "And I've been his classmate for much longer!"

"Well aside from surviving with the Murphy's law condition, he is also good at keeping his other condition secret. Only me and Zack knew about it so far," She smiled at Bradley. "And you of course," She then narrowed her eyes. "But you must not tell anyone else! Got it?" Bradley did the cross-my-heart gesture with a smile. "My lips are sealed," He promised and they shook hands which ended in an emotional hug shared between the two.

"I miss this a lot.." Bradley rested his head on Melissa's. "We really should catch up with things, don't you think?" Several knocks on the door caught them off guard and their gazes now set on the doors where Milo and Zack entered through. The moisture and noticeable tear-streaks on Milo's face screamed that he's been crying while outside and Zack had his arm around him in comfort. "We heard what you were talking about and Milo didn't take it too well," Zack said on behalf of his crying friend.

Without a second spared, Milo dashed towards Bradley and hugged him tight, almost knocking him back down to the pillows. But instead of hastily pushing him off like he often did whenever someone hugs him from behind, the thirteen-year old just sat calmly and returned the hug; The sight surprising Zack knowing Bradley's dislike towards Milo for quite a while now.

"I should have known that I was bothering you ages ago!" Milo cried as Bradley maintained his brace around him. "How could I have been so blind and oblivious to those in my surroundings?!"

Instead of feeling the usual despising feeling for Milo, Bradley felt something he always thought he'd never feel towards him;

 _Pity_.

 _Poor Milo. Lost, hurt, confused and sympathetic_. Bradley thought as he let Milo cry into his already moist shoulder. "It's okay Milo…" He soothingly rubbed Milo's back as he shushed him to ease his crying. "You shouldn't blame yourself!" He made Milo sit up so the two were facing each other; Bradley's hands clasped on the other's shoulders.

"You already have a lot to be wary about and a kid desperate for friends and attention is nothing compared to expecting forms of disaster you have to face and endure almost every day!"

He placed his hand on Milo's cheek and used his thumb to wipe off the stray tears from his eyes.

"I'm partially at fault here too Milo. You know, for not speaking up to anyone my discomfort," He shrugged and then he and Milo exchanged a short look of evenness.

"So.. looks like we're both in the guilty party huh?"

"Yeah,"

With a breath, Bradley placed a hand on Milo's chest and smiled. "In that case, how about we both apologise to each other at the same time? Principal Milder did say that it's the best solution for when both parties are guilty with crimes against each other," Milo readily nodded in agreement and the two locked eye contact.

"I'm sorry,"

"I'm sorry."

Both paused for a moment before laughing. "Jinx!" Milo grinned and threw his arms in the air. "You owe me a soda!" Bradley smirked and gave Milo a friendly shove. "Expect that soda when I get out of here Murphy!" He grinned when he was being tackle hugged by the boy as Melissa and Zack joined in.

Melissa nuzzled Bradley happily and wrapped an arm around him. "So, now that you and Milo are cool with each other, how about you start joining us in school when you get out of here?"

Bradley sat in silence as he thought over. "You want me to join you?" He looked at the three sitting around him. They are all wearing the expression of excitement and hope, clearly eager to accept him as one of them.

"Of course Bradley! Anyone is always welcome to be my friend!" Milo stroke a fist on his chest as Zack chuckled. "But expect a ton of surprises when you're with us." Zack said. "Oh and make sure that you have an active health insurance unless your parents are rich enough to pay large bills,"

Melissa held both of Bradley's hands and pressed her forehead against his. "It'll also be our chance to be like how we used to be again!" She smiled softly. "I really want us to be best friends again Bradley, and Milo and Zack will want to be with us too. Think about it, we'll be having so much fun together! Nobody will get left behind! We'll stick together through thick and thin!" She turned to her boys. "Right guys?"

"Yeah!"

"Totally!"

Bradley couldn't help but feel touched and contain rising excitement. He'll get to be close with Melissa again and get to know Milo and Zack even more. It will be his chance to have real friends who will stick by his side no matter what while he does the same for them. Why blow up this chance?

A choked sob escaped from his mouth and a smile formed upon Bradley's face as he hugged his new friends, not letting go for a long time. The longest hug he's ever given to anyone in his entire life…

* * *

So from that day onward, things have changed drastically for Bradley Nicholson.

He is officially a part of Milo's group and their bond became closer and closer whenever they visited him in the Murphy Suite, which Milo requested Dr Underwood to shift him to when he's well enough. Opening up made Bradley see that he and the trio are so much alike and he started smiling and talking to them more often.

Milo, Zack and Melissa finally got to see what a happier Bradley turned out to be like and loved to listen to whatever fun fact he as to share and even gained more smarts thanks to his sharing of knowledge and them paying attention.

Even his family started being more loving towards him instead of treating him strictly like before after realising what their mistakes has done to their youngest family member. While Mr and Mrs Nicholson could only stay with their son for half of the hospital visiting hours due to their hectic work schedule, they visited him every day within his stay and made sure to bring with them their son's necessities whenever he needs.

And as a result of all the blessings and positivity Bradley received during the past few days, he recovered quicker and was finally out of hospital.

Although he had to go easy and keep a cast on his wrist for a while, Bradley was emotionally stable and came to school with a positive smile instead of the salty expression he always wore. He stood at the neighbourhood bus stop waiting with some classmates and grinned when he saw one of his best friends come in view as she walked.

"Morning Bradley!" Melissa cheerily greeted him with a hug. "Good to see you attending school again! Classes are really boring without you. Kept being yelled at because none of us knew the answers to certain questions," She chuckled at the memory.

Bradley rolled his eyes in amusement. "You should have really taken at least an hour or two scanning your books in advance," He advised. "That's what I do everyday and that's how I was able to know a lot than any of you," He paused and gave an awkward laugh. "No offense," Melissa grunted and gave him a friendly punch in the shoulder. "Half taken, quarter not," She chuckled heartily.

 _ **CRASH!**_

A lamppost fell over from across them as Milo and Zack balanced on a rolling boulder that kept moving on, destroying things along the way. Luckily, both were wearing helmets and Milo was looking for ways as usual. Melissa and Bradley watched them a bit longer before Melissa gave a knowing smirk. "Well, looks like they're not taking the bus today," She pulled out a helmet from her bag and placed it on.

As she did, she saw the bus just meters away from their stop and she turned to Bradley. "I'm going after those two, just to make sure they do make it to school before the bell rings." She smiled in inviting. "And you are very welcome to join me in the wild goose chase, if you want to risk your life just a little and walk on the adventure side," She pulled out an extra helmet from her bag.

Seeing the bus approaching and the boulder chasing his friends getting farther ahead, Bradley didn't take long to think and he fastened the extra helmet around his head; a devious smile on his face.

"You can count me in," Was his determined reply before the two managed to catch a rolling cement pipe and leap on that, controlling its directions with their feet while Bradley enjoyed it with his newly risen adrenaline, having the time of his life and enjoying the Murphy's Law.

Every single bit of it.


End file.
